The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

In this chilling tale, Margaret Atwood describes a society in which women have lost their rights...their right to work, their right to money, their right to education, their right to read, even their right to their own bodies. The narrator, Offred, once a mother, married, and employed, now is a handmaid. A handmaid is a women not quite qualified enough to be a "wife," but qualified enough to bare children. She lives with a prominent family, and has intercourse with the "commander" once a month, in hopes of producing a child. The handmaidens only have the opportunity to bare three children (with three different men), after which (or if they are unable to produce) they declared "unwomen" and are sent to the "colonies" to work until they die.

I absolutely love Atwood's strong feminine voice in this novel. However, this piece does not only raise questions regarding feminism, it also deals with topics of religion, slavery, politics, etc... It gives anyone, man or woman, a lot to think about long after they have set down the book. I highly recommend The Handmaid's Tale to any and all readers. It is not a book to be missed.